Pay €100 'fine' to rid PCs of horror images

Typically, this sort of malware pretends to be an official piece of police software and pops up a text message accusing victims of breaking the law - usually for downloading copyrighted material or dodgy pornography - and locks down the computer until the user coughs up some cash.

But this new Trojan stoops to an all-time low by displaying actual pictures of child sex abuse and accuses the victim of previously viewing it. The ransomware sports logos of the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) and the German Society for the Prosecution of Copyright Infringement (GVU) to lend an air of authenticity to proceedings.

Owners of infected machines are ordered to pay an on-the-spot fine of €100 to get a code that unlocks the computer.

Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt) put out a warning about the disturbing new tactic in ransomware extortion on Tuesday; an advisory in German can be found here. Victims are advised to not be intimidated by the extortionists' threats. ®